J.P. MOCZULSKI
Confidence about the Canadian economy faded this month, with fewer people saying they plan to make a major purchase in the coming months amid growing concern over household income and employment, a poll said Thursday.
A consumer confidence index, released Thursday by TNS Canada, showed a "relapse" in September after it climbed in August. The results come a day after a report showed a unexpected drop in retail sales as consumers pared back spending in furniture and appliances.
Consumers are feeling less buoyant about the economy, household income and employment in the next six months, the poll said. The degree to which they think now is a good time to make major purchases has fallen. And a measure of the present situation, which tracks the overall state of the current economic and employment situations, also returned to negative territory.
"Consumers are going to drive any economic turnaround. But it doesn't seem that government stimulus efforts have done the trick when it comes to increasing, or even stabilizing, consumer confidence," said Michael Antecol, director of the marketing research firm's monthly study.
Weaker confidence comes as the pace of the global economic recovery has slowed in many countries, including the U.S. and Canada. American billionaire Warren Buffett said Thursday the U.S. economy remains in recession, disputing this week's assessment by a leading arbiter of economic activity that the downturn ended more than a year ago.
In Canada, home-building, job growth and trade have all slowed in recent months after a strong start to the year.
"While a listing economic recovery is better than no recovery, it might not take much to sink the whole ship," Mr. Antecol said. "After last month's mini-rally it seemed that consumers might be the sump pumps that could return some buoyancy to that recovery in the form of sustained confidence.
"Now, it seems as if those pumps are sputtering, leaving some rocky days ahead."
The poll of 1,015 Canadians was conducted between Sept. 13 and Sept. 17.
With a file from Reuters.
Tavia Grant